Tuesday, December 15, 2009

My Christmas Message

MY CHRISTMAS MESSAGE."As we approach the end of 2009, we look back over a very bad year in British politics. The 'Expenses' scandal has polluted British democracy, the 'credit crunch' has piled up massive debts which future generations will have to repay, and so many of our young men and women have been killed and injured in Afghanistan.""During the Christmas Festival we need, as a nation, to reflect on how we can do things better. All of us who aspire to public office must put our commitment to public service above personal advantage. Public office should be about helping constituents, not helping yourself. All of us must accept a new discipline that we stop spending on ourselves, at the same time as imposing massive debt burdens on our children and grandchildren. And we must offer prayers and thanks to our sons and daughters who fight on foreign fields to ensure our security.""Christmas is also a time to be thankful for our good fortune. Living amongst the wondrous landscapes of Montgomeryshire is a privilege to savour. Whenever I spend a day in any city, I realise just how civilised our life in Montgomeryshire is. While those of us in public life have a duty to strive for improvement in the lives of those we wish to represent, let us not forget how lucky we are. And let us all have a joyous, thoughtful Christmas."

7 comments:

God where have you been Living, Blair ended the working for the people, it's now working to fill your bank balance.

I've spent a life time voting Labour and I wasted my dam time, even if I voted Plaid Tory Lib Dem's it has been a total waste of time. Now we might be seeing the end of our society as the country goes bust.

I not walk across the road to kick an MP to save his or her life at the moment unless he or she paid me and even then i think I'd walk away

I am now past giving WAG the benefit of the doubt - the stats say it all; just the other day a report comparing the different regions of the UK put Wales at the bottom of the UK economic league tables and the world rankings In re Welsh universities make for terrible reading. It is time to admit we are up a gum tree and come clean, we are failing, and Wales is failing. Admitting that will help us face the reality of what we must do, with some urgency, to rectify matters and put Wales on the path to fixing the issues that are staring us in the face, but for now we prefer to be blind to them.

Rhodri Morgan has left Wales with a terrible economy - at the bottom of the UK barrel in terms of GVA output (25% down on the UK average), and a university system that despite its love for such phrases as 'world class' is in fact well outside the top 100 world ranked universities. In comparison Scotland has three universities in the top 100, one of them ranked 20th in the world rankings. So what is the basis for Rhodri Morgan/WAG's often heard, "Wales is a small clever/smart nation punching above its weight". This is laughable in face of the facts.

Just today Swansea University continues with the diatribe that it is a world-class university when in fact it is ranked a dismal 357th - Cardiff University is ranked 135th in the world rankings (having dropped some 30+ places in the world rankings).

For some strange reason, the Welsh Assembly Government and the Welsh university system are acting like a drug or alcohol addict, they just won't admit they have a serious problem. They won't accept the reality of the situation.

Wales is failing on the world scene.

It's economy is in the tank, its universities are underperforming and yet we hear it all the time that Wales has a world-class university system - when Wales's #2 university is ranked 357th and Cardiff 135th, whereas, for example, Edinburgh is ranked 20th in the world rankings.

As an Aber biochemistry graduate I am appalled how the university has deteriorated over the years. Earlier this year I was in Aber on business and took the opportunity to have a look round old haunts. I met one of my old lecturers (who eventually retired as a Reader in Biochemistry) who told me with a straight face that I would be considered to be a star student nowadays. I suggested that he was pulling my leg but he told me flatly that he wasn't. I got a Desmond (mainly because I did bugger all work :-) ) many years ago but he said that today it would be a 2:1 without any problems whatsoever. The quality of the students has been driven down big time and hence the quality of the teaching. I was proud to be an Aber man - but not sure that I would encourage any of my kids to go there today.

our mps expenses were bad enough but jaunting off for a week on an all expenses paid trip as pretendig to be working in parliament must be the end of the road for opik hes just taking the piss out of his own supporters and the rest of us